Treatment of materials in liquid suspension such as paper pulp



Jan. 23, 1962 TREATMENT OF M. LAMORT DE GAIL EI'AL MATERIALS IN LIQUID SUSPENSION SUCH AS PAPER PULP Filed April 1, 1958 I I l l para! flarzzfangvis 1 3,018,060 TREATMENT OF MATERIALS IN LIQUID SUSPENSION SUCH AS PAPER PULP Marc Lamort de Gail, Rue tie la Tour, Vitry-le-Francois,

France, and Raoul Marie Francois Chagrin de Saint- Hiiaire, 30 Ave. du President Wiison, Paris, France Filed Apr. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 725,712 Claims priority, application France Apr. 9, 1957 4 Claims. (Cl. 241-74) In the fibrous materials used in the manufacture of paper, the fibres are connected together either naturally by organic substances if they are vegetable fibres, or artificially if it is a question of used paper. The fibres required have to be separated from other fibres and from impurities.

This separation into individual fibres is carried out in disintegrators (triturators, crushers, pulping machines, etc.) and the fibres suitable for the manufacture of paper are then extracted from the mass by separators, screens or purifiers.

Machines also exist which act both as disintegrators, and separators, screens or purifiers.

The present invention relates to apparatus of the latter type, having the advantage in comparison with known apparatus of using much less energy for the same treatment capacity.

According to the present invention the materials in liquid suspension which are to be treated are charged into a basket having perforated side walls and are subjected in the basket to the disintegrating action of one or more agitators (impellers, for example) which project the liquid mass against the walls of the basket, so that the desired fibres separated from the other fibres or impurities pass through the perforations, a vibrating movement being imparted to the basket.

Preferably:

(a) The perforations of the basket are submerged both outside and inside the basket, for example by placing the basket inside a tank in which the level of the liquid can be regulated.

(b) The vibrating basket is connected to the tank through the elastically deformable means.

(c) In cases where a plurality of agitators are used, arranged in one and the same plane, the latter rotate in the same direction so that the directions of the liquid currents projected by two adjacent agitators are opposed in the region between the agitators.

In the accompanying drawings, which are given merely by way of example.

FIGURE 1 is an anal sectional view of an apparatus according to the present invention, and

FIGURE 2 is an external View of the said apparatus.

The apparatus illustrated comprises a basket 1 of perforated sheet metal surmounted by a bowed member 2 carrying a device 3 adapted to emit vibrations. The basket 1 is arranged inside a tank 4. In the bottom 1a of the basket 1, which is of frusto-conical form, are situated vanes 1b and an impeller 5. The latter is carried by a shaft 6 which is carried by two bearings 7 and is driven rotationally by a motor 8 through belts 9. The bearings 7 and the motor 9 are supported by a frame 10 on which the tank 4 rests and on which the basket 1 rests through a resilient sealing member 11. The lower portion of the tank 4 comprises an evacuation pipe 12 which passes the treated paste into a tank 13. The level of the paste in this tank 13 can be regulated by means of an adjustable-height overflow pipe 14. The pulp in the tank 13 is evacuated through an opening 15. Into the lower portion of the basket 1 there opens a pipe 16 which is provided with a stop valve 17.

trite Sttes atent O This apparatus operates in the following manner:

The material to be treated (old paper, vegetable matter etc.) is introduced in suspension in water into the basket 1 from above. Under the gyratory action imparted to the fibrous material by the impeller 5, and owing to the effect of the impact of these materials against the walls of the basket and more particularly against the vanes 1b, the fibres separate from one another. As the efiective separation of the fibres proceeds, the fibres pass through the holes in the basket 1, which are kept open by the whirling of the liquid mass and by the action of the vibrator 3 The pulp thus sorted flows out through the pipe 12. Thus, the fibres are evacuated from the basket 1 continuously as and when they are separated from the mass. The materials which cannot pass through the holes of the basket 1 either owing to their dimensions or owing to the fact that they have not been separated, and also any impurities, are evacuated periodically through the pipe 16.

Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the example described and illustrated. Thus, for example, the single impeller 5 could be replaced by a plurality of impellers arranged in one and the same plane. In this case it is advantageous to rotate these impellers in the same direction, so that the directions of the liquid currents induced by two adjacent impellers are opposed to one another in the region between the impellers.

This arrangement of the impellers could be applied to apparatus intended for the disintegration of paper pulpof all kinds.

The present invention is not limited in its application to the paper-making industry. For example, the apparatus described could be used in the chemical industry, more particularly for crushing and classifying crystals in liquid suspension.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for treating fibrous material in suspension comprising, in combination, a tank; a basket adapted to contain the fibrous material to be treated and being located within and spaced from said tank, said basket having perforated substantially vertically extending side walls; means for maintaining liquid at a preselected level in said tank and basket; at least one agitator means located within said basket for agitating the fibrous materials therein and for propelling the material through the perforations in the side wall thereof into the space between said basket and said tank; drive means operatively connected to said agitator means for driving the same; resilient support means resiliently supporting said basket in said tank; vibrator means operatively connected to said basket for vibrating the same so as to prevent clog ing of said perforations by said fibrous material; and means for withdrawal of the treated material from said tank.

2. Apparatus for treating fibrous material in suspen sion, comprising, in combination, a tank having a bottom wall; a basket adapted to contain the fibrous material to be treated and being located within and spaced from said tank, said basket having perforated substantially vertically extending side walls and a bottom wall spaced from said bottom wall of said tank; means for maintaining liquid at a preselected level in said tank and basket; at least one agitator means located within said basket for agitating the fibrous materials therein and for propelling the material through the perforations in the side wall thereof into the space between said basket and said tank; drive means operatively connected to said agitator means for driving the same; resilient support means interposed between said bottom wall of said tank and said bottom wall of said basket for resiliently supporting said basket in said tank; vibrator means operatively connected to said basket for vibrating the same so as to prevent clogging u? of said perforations by said fibrous material; and means for withdrawal of the treated material from said tank.

3. Apparatus for treating fibrous material in suspension comprising, in combination, a tank having a bottom wall; a basket adapted to contain the fibrous material to be treated and being located within and spaced from said tank, said basket having perforated side walls and a bottom wall spaced from said bottom wall of said tank; at least one agitator means located within said basket for agitating the fibrous materials therein and for propelling the material through the perforations in the side wall thereof into the space between said basket and said tank; drive means operatively connected to said agitator means for driving the same and including a drive shaft passing through aligned openings formed in said bottom wall of said tank and said bottom wall of said basket; annular resilient support means interposed between said bottom wall of said tank and said bottom wall of said basket for resiliently supporting said basket in said tank, said annular resilient support means surrounding said drive shaft and sealingly engaging said bottom walls; vibrator means operatively connected to said basket for vibrating the same so as to prevent clogging of said perforations by said fibrous material; and means for withdrawal of the treated material from said tank.

4. Apparatus for treating fibrous material in suspension comprising, in combination, a tank having a bottom wall; a basket adapted to contain the fibrous material to be treated and being located within and spaced from said tank, said basket having perforated side walls and a bottom wall spaced from said bottom wall of said tank; at

least one agitator means located within said basket for agitating the fibrous materials therein and for propelling the material through the perforations in the side wall thereof into the space between said basket and said tank; drive means operatively connected to said agitator means for driving the same and including a drive shaft passing through aligned openings formed in said bottom wall of said tank and said bottom wall of said basket; annular resilient support means interposed between said bottom wall of said tank and said bottom wall of said basket for resiliently supporting said basket in said tank, said annular resilient support means surrounding said drive shaft and sealingly engaging said bottom walls; vibrator means operatively connected to said basket for vibrating the same so as to prevent clogging of said perforations by said fibrous material; carrying means fixedly connected to said basket and projecting therefrom outside said tank for carrying said vibrator means on said basket; and means for withdrawal of the treated material from said tank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,371,837 Martindale Mar. 20, 1945 2,434,449 Wells Jan. 13, 1948 2,641,971 Ellis June 16, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 952,759 Germany Nov. 22, 1956 1,148,271 France June 17, 1957 

4. APPARATUS FOR TREATING FIBROUS MATERIAL IN SUSPENSION COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A TANK HAVING A BOTTOM WALL; A BASKET ADAPTED TO CONTAIN THE FIBROUS MATERIAL TO BE TREATED AND BEING LOCATED WITHIN AND SPACED FROM SAID TANK, SAID BASKET HAVING PERFORATED SIDE WALLS AND A BOTTOM WALL SPACED FROM SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID TANK; AT LEAST ONE AGITATOR MEANS LOCATED WITHIN SAID BASKET FOR AGITATING THE FIBROUS MATERIALS THEREIN AND FOR PROPELLING THE MATERIAL THROUGH THE PERFORATIONS IN THE SIDE WALL THEREOF INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID BASKET AND SAID TANK; DRIVE MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID AGITATOR MEANS FOR DRIVING THE SAME AND INCLUDING A DRIVE SHAFT PASSING THROUGH ALIGNED OPENINGS FORMED IN SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID TANK AND SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID BASKET; ANNULAR RESILIENT SUPPORT MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID TANK AND SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID BASKET FOR RESILIENTLY SUPPORTING SAID BASKET IN SAID TANK, SAID ANNULAR RESILIENT SUPPORT MEANS SURROUNDING SAID DRIVE SHAFT AND SEALINGLY ENGAGING SAID BOTTOM WALL; VIBRATOR MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID BASKET FOR VIBRATING THE SAME SO AS TO PREVENT CLOGGING OF SAID PERFORATIONS BY SAID FIBROUS MATERIAL; CARRYING MEANS FIXEDLY CONNECTED TO SAID BASKET AND PROJECTING THEREFROM OUTSIDE SAID TANK FOR CARRYING SAID VIBRATOR MEANS ON SAID BASKET; AND MEANS FOR WITHDRAWAL OF THE TREATED MATERIAL FROM SAID TANK. 